Pickett’s Charge
On July 3, 1863, Union troops repelled a massive artillery assault on Cemetery Ridge during the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg in southern Pennsylvania. During the early morning hours Confederate General Robert E. Lee ordered General Longstreet to prepare General Pickett’s troops for the assault. Longstreet advised Lee of his reservations about the success of such an advance, which he did not feel Confederate troops could sustain. Lee disregarded Longstreet and maintained his order for a heavy bombardment of Union defenses on the Ridge followed by an advance of Pickett’s men.
After two hours of heavy shelling, Confederate Colonel Alexander sent word to General Pickett that the Union troops were withdrawing and encouraged him to come quickly in the interval. Pickett sent his note to General Longstreet who, based on Lee’s orders and despite his own reservations, approved the charge.
The attack, commonly known as Pickett’s Charge or Longstreet’s Assault, was an attempt to penetrate the center of Union forces on Cemetery Ridge. During the attack, only one Confederate brigade temporarily reached the top of the ridge—afterwards called the high watermark of the Confederacy—led by Brigadier General Lewis Armistead who, just before being shot, yelled, “Give them cold steel, boys!” The charge ultimately proved disastrous for the Confederates, with casualties approaching 60 percent. As a consequence, Confederate General Robert E. Lee was forced to retreat and ultimately abandon his attempt to reach Washington, D.C. via Pennsylvania.
Some seventy years later, Confederate veteran John H. Robertson, one of many Confederate soldiers captured during Pickett’s charge, recalled his experience as a federal prisoner of war:
I was captured at the battle of Gettysburg in Longstreet’s charge and was taken to Fort Delaware, an island of 90 acres of land where the Union prisoners were kept. We were detailed to work in the fields and our rations was corn bread and pickled beef. However I fared better than some of the prisoners for I was given the privilege of making jewelry for the use of the Union soldiers. I made rings from the buttons from their overcoats and when they were polished the brass made very nice looking rings. These I sold to the soldiers of the Union Army who were our guards and with the money thus obtained I could buy food and clothing. The Union guards kept a commissary and they had a big supply of chocolate. I ate chocolate candy and drank hot chocolate in place of coffee until I have never wanted any chocolate since.“John H. Robertson.” Miss Effie Cowan, interviewer; Marlin, Texas, ca. 1936-40. American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1940. Manuscript Division
Robertson was fortunate as 28,063 Confederates and 23,049 Union soldiers were killed or wounded at Gettysburg. President Lincoln paid tribute to the Union soldiers’ sacrifice in the Gettysburg Address, delivered at the dedication of a National Cemetery at Gettysburg on November 19, 1863.
Learn More
- Words and Deeds in American History: Selected Documents Celebrating the Manuscript Division’s First 100 Yearscontains the order for Pickett’s charge from General James Longstreet to Colonel Edward P. Alexander and copies of Alexander’s battlefield dispatches to Longstreet and Gen. George E. Pickett during the Battle of Gettysburg on July 3, 1863.
- Many Civil War veterans spoke of a 1913 Battle of Gettysburg reunion in American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project, 1936 to 1940.
- Search on Gettysburg in Civil War Glass Negatives and Related Prints to find more photographs of the Battle of Gettysburg. This collection also includes a timeline of the Civil War.
Additional Resources:
- Detroit Publishing Company
- Horydczak Collection
- Panoramic Photographs
- Historic American Sheet Music contains “Pickets Charge March,” which was “composed and dedicated to the Northern Army of Virginia.”
- Browse Civil War Maps by subject, location, contributor, or title for views of more than 2,000 Civil War maps and charts as well as atlases and sketchbooks.
George M. Cohan
Playwright, songwriter, dancer, actor, theater owner, and producer George M. Cohan was born on July 3, 1878, in Providence, Rhode Island. (Some sources report his date of birth as July 4.) As a young boy, he and his sister toured New England and the Midwest with their parents as the Four Cohans, a vaudeville act, for which he also wrote sketches and songs. In 1904, Cohan opened in the Broadway production Little Johnny Jones. That play, which Cohan also directed and for which he wrote the book, music, and lyrics (including the song “Yankee Doodle Dandy”), catapulted him to national attention.
Give my regards to Broadway,
remember me to Herald Square,
Tell all the gang at Forty-Second street,
that I will soon be there,
Whisper of how I’m yearning
To mingle with the old time throng,
Give my regards to old Broadway
and say that I’ll be there, e’er long.George M. Cohan, “Give My Regards to Broadway,” 1904.
Cohan is best known for the innovative Broadway musicals that he produced in the 1920s, such as The Tavern (1920-21), The Song and Dance Man (1923-24), and American Born (1925). He later made memorable appearances in Ah, Wilderness!(1933-34) and I’d Rather Be Right (1937-38).
A gifted composer of popular songs, Cohan wrote such favorites as “You’re a Grand Old Flag,” “Mary’s a Grand Old Name,” “Give My Regards to Broadway,” and “I’m a Yankee Doodle Dandy.” His career was the subject of the movie, Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) and the Broadway musical George M! (1968-69).
The popularity of Cohan’s World War I song “Over There” is attested to by the variety of sheet music releases shown below.
Learn More
- The Library of Congress Celebrates the Songs of America includes several essays and other materials related to George M. Cohan.
- Included in the Library’s collections of audio recordings are several performances of George M. Cohan’s songs. In particular search the National Jukebox and Patriotic Melodies to find versions of Over There and You’re a Grand Old Flag.
- You may view George M. Cohan’s sheet music through the Library’s Notated Music Collections as well as the following digital collections:
- American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment 1870-1920 provides an overview of the world of vaudeville entertainment where Cohan began his career. Browse the Subject Index to explore the collection that illustrates the vibrant and diverse forms of popular entertainment which thrived from 1870 to 1920.
- There were some 20,000 vaudeville performers still working in the 1920s. Among these was Bob Hope whose life is documented in the Library’s online exhibition Bob Hope and American Variety. Hope, like Cohan, gained his professional training in vaudeville theaters.
- To find more material on the history of the performing arts, browse the Performing Arts collections or visit the Imagination section of the American Treasures of the Library of Congress exhibition.
- The Performing Arts Databases provide access to information about the Library’s collections of scores, sheet music, audio recordings, films, photographs, maps, and other materials.
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